LUXEMBOURG

LUXEMBOURG / LËTZEBUERG.

Opening of the Moselle River Canal System. Lock at the Gréewemaacher-Wellen Dam.
Stamp issued on 26.05.1964.
Face value: 3 Luxembourgish francs.
Design: Robert Cami (1900-1975).
Printed by Imprimerie des Timbres-Poste et des Valeurs Fiduciaires, Paris.
Printing: Recess.
Print: 1,200,000 copies.
Size: 40 x 26.1 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 692.
- Michel No. 696.
- Scott No. 410.
- StampWorld No. 697.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 743.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 647.

The principle of the channeling of the Moselle was definitively acquired when on October 27, 1956 the plenipotentiaries of the three riparian States, France, Germany and Luxembourg, signed the international convention on the development of the river. The Contracting States have decided to develop the Moselle between Koblenz (Germany) and Thionville (France) to make these 270 km (168 mi) of waterways accessible to boats of 1,500 tons. On May 26, 1964, the canalized Moselle was officially opened to navigation.

The Gréewemaacher-Wellen Dam (French: Barrage-écluse de Grevenmacher) is situated at kilometer 212.85 of the canal between the Luxembourg town of Gréewemaacher and the German town of Wellen. The lock for large ships is 170 m (558 ft) long and 12 m (39.3 ft) wide, with a drop height of 6.25 m (20.5 ft).

Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution (https://worldofstamp2.wordpress.com/).

IRAQ

IRAQ / العراق

Hydroelectric Dam in the Taksim Tharthar-Euphrates Canal.
Official stamp issued in 08.1978.
Face value: 5 Iraqi fils.
Printing: Photogravure.

Catalogs
- Michel No. D364.
- Scott No. O332.
- Stanley Gibbons No. O1338.
- Yvert et Tellier No. S286.

The Tharthar or Altharthar, known in Iraq as Buhayrat ath-Tharthar (Arabic: بحيرة الثرثار), is an artificial lake opened in 1956, situated northwest of Saladin Governorate and south of the city of Samarra, about 90 km (56 mi) northwest of Baghdad, between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. The lake has an artificial outlet built in 1956 called Taksim Tharthar Canal, which drains to the Euphrates River directly. The canal, after 28 km (17.4 mi) from its outlet, forks to another canal that returns water back to the Tigris River. The dam, with six gates, built in 1976, serves to regulate the outflow of water from the lake and, at the same time, to produce electricity.

FRANCE

FRANCE.

Tourism.
Canal de l'Ourcq.
Stamp issued on 30.05.1992.
Face value: 4 French francs.
Engraving: Pierre Béquet (1932-2012).
Printing: Recess.
Print: 6,647,681 copies.
Size: 40 x 26 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 3002.
- Michel No. 2901.
- Scott No. 2290.
- StampWorld No. 2893.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 3079.
- Unificato No. 3002.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2764.

The Canal de l'Ourcq in the Île-de-France region (greater Paris) with 10 locks. It has a length of 108.1 km (67.2 mi). It was built at a width of 3.20 m (10.5 ft) but was enlarged to 3.7 m (12 ft), which permitted use by more pleasure boats. The canal begins at Port-aux-Perches near the village of Troësnes, where it splits from the channeled river Ourcq, and flows to the Bassin de la Villette, where it joins the Canal Saint-Martin, and it represents one of the elements of the Parisian Canal Network (Réseau des Canaux Parisiens), a public-works authority operated by the city. Its construction began in 1805 under the direction of Édouard de Villiers du Terrage, it was filled with water on December 2, 1808 and was crossed by the first boat on August 15, 1813. In 1893 a canal inclined plane was constructed on the channel, near Meaux. In 1895 construction began to widen the canal in order for it to accommodate 1,000 tonne vessels. In 1920 this widening was extended to Les Pavillons-sous-Bois. Today the canal provides approximately half of the 380,000 m³ (500,000 cu yd) daily water requirement for the city's public works.

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Thanks to Daniel Mathieu for his contribution (http://lettresdumonde.blogspot.com/)

BELGIUM

BELGIUM / BELGIQUE - BELGIË.

International Water Exhibition, Liège (1939).
Albert Canal in Eigenbilzen, and King Albert I portrait.
Last stamp in a set of 4, issued on 31.10.1938.
Face value: 1.75 Belgian franc.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 2,200,000 copies.
Size: 34 x 25 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 481.
- Michel No. 485.
- Scott No. 321.
- StampWorld No. 482.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 827.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 487.

The Albert Canal (Dutch: Albertkanaal; French: Canal Albert) is a navigable canal located in the northeast of Belgium, which was named after King Albert I of Belgium. It connects Antwerp with Liège and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river, and it also connects with the Dessel-Turnhout-Schoten canal. Its total length is 129.5 km (80.5 mi). It was built between 1930 and 1939 and was used for the first time in 1940 but, due to WWII and German occupation, heavy use did not begin until 1946. Between Antwerp and Liège, there is an elevation difference of 56 m (184 ft), and it took six sets of canal locks to overcome this difference. Five canal locks each have a 10 m (33 ft) lift, and are located at Genk, Diepenbeek, Hasselt, Kwaadmechelen and Olen; the sixth is the Wijnegem Lock, which has an elevation of 5.45 m (17.9 ft). The stamp shows the canal in Eigenbilzen, a town that since 1977 has been merged with Bilzen.

MADAGASCAR

MADAGASCAR (French Colony).

FIDES (Social and Economic Development Fund).
Canal des Pangalanes.
Third stamp in a set of 4, issued on 22.10.1956.
Face value: 10 French African CFA francs,
Design and engraving: Claude Hertenberger (1912-2002).
Printing: Recess.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 433.
- Scott No. 294.
- StampWorld No. 482.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 335.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 329.

The Canal des Pangalanes consists of a series of natural rivers, waterways and human-made lakes that extends for over 645 km (400 mi) and runs down the east coast of Madagascar from Mahavelona to Farafangana. An initial area of the canal in Toamasina is straight, while subsequent areas have curves, lagoons, connected lakes and swamps. Construction efforts began during the era of the Merina monarchy, with major expansion during the French colonial period between 1896 and 1904, and additional expansion during 1949-1957. After use of the canal decreased, a large project in the 1980s restored and renovated it.

AUSTRIA

AUSTRIA / ÖSTERREICH.

Vienna Meeting of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
Air view of Vienna, with Danube river and Danube Canal (Donaukanal).
Stamp and minishet issued on 04.11.1986.
Face value: 6 shilling.
Design: Ferdinand Dorner.
Engraving: Wolfgang Seidel (b. 1946).
Print: 6,500,000 copies.
Size (minisheet): 90 x 70 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. Block 8.
- StampWorld No. 1912.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1696.

The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of the Treaty, it recognize the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism for minimizing political and military tensions between East and West and improving human rights in the Communist bloc. The first phase was the Meeting of Foreign Ministers in Helsinki in 1973, the second negotiations held in Geneva from 1973 to 1975, and the third the Helsinki summit in 1975. The final document was signed in Helsinki Finland on August 1, 1975 by 33 European nations, the United States and Canada. It is often called the Helsinki Agreement. In 1994, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was established as a successor to CSCE. The Vienna Meeting, started on November 4, 1986, lasted until January 19, 1989.